Business_Research_Methods_Part_I

Business Research Methods Part I Applied Business Research and Statistics QNT 561 Business Research Methods Part I In a world where the economy has caused so many losses to people, insurance is something that every person should have. Every day, it is reported of people not possessing insurance to cover home damage, car accidents, and even their lives. It would not be so unreasonable to expect the manufacturer or retailer to cover expensive electronics prone to damage and loss. This business research will address the research question involving AT&T’s iPhones, define a research design and offer a sample design. Research Question AT&T has put itself in the forefront of expensive phone technology with the development of the iPhone. As cell phone consumers spend hundreds of dollars on phones, many do so with the comfort of possessing insurance to cover their investment. Even so not all phone providers offer insurance directly through the company. Therefore, the research question is; why will AT&T not allow customers who have purchased the iPhone, to purchase insurance directly through them' “One of the biggest complaints people have had about the iPhone is that if they drop it, lose it, or it gets ripped off, they're out of luck. AT&T doesn't offer any insurance programs for the iPhone like it does for other handsets; I'd wager to guess that's because the iPhone is, indeed, more expensive than the others when not subsidized” (Hickney, 2010, p. 2). Our research has found that there are insurances available through partner companies provided by AT&T, but the company will not offer that product directly through them. Research Design This research question will be answered through a study of a chosen representative sample of iPhone users. “A sample is expected to mirror the population from which it comes; however there is no guarantee that any sample will be precisely representative of the population from which it comes” (Mugo, 1990, p. 1). This will entail the gathering of data through a standardized self-administered questionnaire. The questions will range from level of interest in purchasing iPhone insurance to; tolerance in cost of purchasing phone insurance to; ease of acquiring insurance through phone purchasers or wanting to research for independent insurance to shop for rates. Characteristics of this study will involve the gender of the buyers, the buyer’s age, buyer’s income level, how often do they buy phones and how often have they had to replace phones because they have been broken or stolen. The amount of phones bought in a given period will be the dependent variable and how often phones have been replaced because of damage or loss will be the independent variable. Answers to these questions can help determine if this is a business advantage or disadvantage to AT&T offering their own iPhone insurance. Sample Design With the sample design of non-insured iPhone users who have coverage through AT&T, the determination is to find out how many other smart phones are insured with AT&T. This sample is a non-probability sample because the specific population we will be sampling. Through this sample design, each smart phone that AT&T provides to their customers will be subjected to see if there is insurance provided for those phones. With AT&T, the smart phones that they carry are iPhone, Blackberry, HTC, Palm, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HP, Pantech, LG, and Nokia. Within each of these groups are subgroups with multiple phones within these manufacturers, or they provide just one smart phone. With each of these phones, we will collect data on if there is insurance provided with these phones through AT&T, also collecting prices of each of the subcategories of each phone to compare prices with the iPhone. With this sample, we will also be collecting how much the insurance cost on each of these phones through AT&T. This sample will allow us to compare other smart phones with the iPhone to research why AT&T does not provide insurance for the iPhone. Conclusion Unforeseen incidents happen every day that inadvertently damage phones. Whether dropping the phone on the floor during the morning rush or losing it in transit to the office or a meeting; not having insurance to cover a device that holds the owners entire life within it is not a good feeling. Many people do not have the funds to replace such an expensive device. The goal of this design will be to gather information from iPhone users and determine the feasibility of why AT & T will not offer the necessary insurance coverage for such expensive and endeared products. References Hickey, M. (May 28, 2010). Report: AT&T to offer Insurance for iPhone. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20006327-1.html Mugo, F. (1990). Sampling in Research. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Mugo/tutorial.htm